Genie in a Bottle
by TakagiNaoSama
Summary: Haruka buys a house out in the country and finds a little surprise waiting for her when she gets there: an aqua-haired genie!


Daydream Fanfiction  
author: Samantha  
e-mail: MsLuna99@aol.com  
http://www.dreamwater.net/chibimichi/home/home.htm  
Rating: PG ~ PG-13  
Timeline: Parallel  
Notes/Summary: Haruka buys a house out in the country and finds a little surprise waiting for her when she gets there: an aqua-haired   
genie!  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Genie in a Bottle  
  
The breeze blowing coolly into the window wakes me from a light   
sleep. It rustles my hair and I can smell the fresh dew of the ocean. I   
begin to shift my position but remember the exhausted being resting in   
my arms. I gaze lovingly down at her beautiful face, admiring the silky   
hair, long eyelashes and sweet lips I've only recently learned to adore   
with a passion. I settle back down and stare out at the full moon b  
bright in the sky, reminiscing on how fate allowed me to love such a   
rare treasure...  
  
  
I had just moved into a new house away from the busy life of   
Tokyo. Some friends from the track helped me move the few items I owned   
in my small apartment. The house was small, but the area around it was   
beautiful. A field of flowers surrounded three sides of it, forest   
extending beyond that. Right outside my bedroom window was a small pond   
which sent an unbelievably calming aroma into the room every night. I   
often wondered how a place such as that was available.  
I waved my friends good bye and went inside to inspect my new   
home. A few pieces of furniture were left from the previous owners,   
leaving me a little more to live by. As I entered my bedroom, something   
caught my eye immediately. An old-style vanity with a large oval mirror   
connected to it was sitting on the opposite side of the room than my   
bed. I walked up to it and ran my fingers along the mirror's outline.  
A strange reflection drew my attention to a closet on the side   
wall. I thought the light may have come from inside, but couldn't think   
of any reason for that to happen. I cautiously turned the doorknob and   
pulled, finding it stuck shut. I pulled harder, finally wedging it   
loose and stumbled back to avoid an avalanche of dust. After it   
cleared, I looked inside. There was nothing visible except a shelf   
above and a bar for hanging clothes.  
Thinking it useless, I was just about to close the door when   
another twinkle of light from the shelf beckoned me to explore further.   
I reached my hand to the back of the shelf and pulled out a bottle. It   
was painted and shaped into many beautiful designs around the perimeter   
and I wondered how anyone could leave such a decoration. The colors   
were extremely faded and hidden from years of dust. I started wiping it   
off and rubbing the sides to clean it.  
A small puff of pink smoke came out of the bottle's mouth and I   
held it away from myself in fear of what it might do. When I opened my   
eyes there was a young woman standing right in front of me. She was   
unspeakably beautiful, with aquamarine hair which cascaded to her   
shoulders in waves. Her clothing consisted of nothing much more than   
loose silk robes layered around her body, held together in the front by   
a sash wrapped around her waist and tied in the back. She flipped her   
hair and looked at me with bright blue eyes.  
"It's about time someone found my bottle. I've been cooped up in   
there for years!" She bent down on one knee. "What may I grant you,   
Master?"  
I was completely confused. I felt angry, embarrassed, and   
completely entranced by her. I couldn't move my mouth or body.  
"What's the matter, Master?" She stood up and adjusted her   
delicate pink robes.  
"I...M-Master?" I stuttered out, tongue-tied.  
"Hai. You found my bottle and called upon me to be your servant   
and grant your heart's desires, did you not?"  
"Na...nani?"  
She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "You just don't get it,   
do you? Look, I'm a genie, you rubbed my bottle, now I grant you three   
wishes."  
"A genie?"  
"Which part of this aren't you understanding?" she laughed. "You   
know, I never met someone like you before. Most often people just make   
their wishes and leave."  
"What do they wish for?" I finally caught my breath enough to talk and think half-clearly.  
"The usual things: love, fame and fortune. It never changes.   
That's why this house is moved in and out of so quickly. Someone blows   
their wishes and is gone. They never think of the consequences."  
"Consequences?"  
The genie giggled and leaned against my bed. "You sure are full of questions. Look, I'm only here to grant your wishes, Master."  
"Please, don't call me Master. My name's Haruka."  
"Okay..." She seemed confused when I told her my name. "What are   
your wishes?"  
"I have no wishes. But I would like to know your name."  
"My name? Why do you want to know so much about _me_?"  
"To tell the truth, my life is so mixed up right now that I think   
the only thing I really need is a friend."  
"You...you want to be my friend?" she asked, surprised.  
"Hai. Which is why I want to know your name."  
Her eyes developed a warm glow at my request. "...Michiru."  
  
A week after I first found Michiru was the first which brought us   
closer. I was sitting at the kitchen table working with my laptop when   
she appeared behind me.  
"What are you doing, Haruka-sama?"  
I leaned back in my chair and gazed up at her. "Michiru-chan,   
what have I told you about referring to me that way?"  
"Gomen ne, Haruka-san. But what are you doing on that...that..."  
"It's a laptop."  
"It looks like a computer."  
"It is, just smaller and portable."  
"A portable computer? But computers are big and heavy."  
"You really have been in that bottle for a long time, haven't   
you? That reminds me. Why did I find it all dirty and dusty in the top   
shelf of a closet?"  
Michiru walked around aimlessly while she told her story. "I've   
gone through master after master, none of them caring about anything   
except getting what they want from their wishes. Ten years ago a man   
came here who's heart was stone cold. He yelled at me and demanded   
things I couldn't give him. Once he made his wishes and I reluctantly   
granted them, he stuck my bottle in that closet so no one else could   
get the wealth that I am."  
"That's terrible! And he kept you there for ten years?"  
"Iie. With his money he left here as quick as he came. A newlywed   
couple lived here for the next decade but never found me. They left to   
find a bigger home on order to start a family. It was for sale quite a   
while before you moved in, and you know the rest."  
"I'm so sorry."  
"Don't worry about it, Haruka-san... What are you doing now?"  
"Michiru-chan," I started, a little too harshly. She wouldn't   
even make eye contact with me as I apologized. "It's just...I have a   
lot of work to do and I need peace and quiet."  
"I understand. I won't bother you now."  
She wasn't really upset, just, I know now, sad because I rejected   
her presence. Michiru slowly retreated to my bedroom, which I found   
strange since her bottle was on the table next to me. I barely had the   
nerve to type two words before internally scolding myself. She was only   
curious and I told her to leave me alone. Some way to treat the person   
I thought about every night while lying alone in my bed. I looked at   
her bottle, polished and shined, and decided to apologize for the right   
reason.  
As I turned the corner into my room I had to blink back an almost   
blinding light. Once my eyes adjusted I saw Michiru laying on my bed on   
her back, one arm extended into the air, with a long glowing ribbon   
gathering itself to make a rose above her finger. When she noticed me,   
the ribbon quickly finished the flower and she sat up with it floating   
in her hands.  
"Do you like it?" she asked, standing and holding it before me.  
"It...it's beautiful."  
Michiru placed her finished project into my hands. It floated   
like a bubble. I didn't even have to touch it in order to hold it. She   
lifted my hands until the rose was level with her face and it began to   
glow brighter when she gently blew on it. A soft red color filled the   
room and the scent of fresh roses calmed my body and spirit. Our eyes   
met, and from then on a bond formed between us that steadily grew   
stronger as time passed.  
  
The next major occurrence happened a week later. It was late,   
around eight o'clock, and I was once again working with my laptop. I   
was so intent on getting my work done that I didn't even see or hear   
Michiru enter the room.  
"Haruka-san."  
Though she first caught my attention vocally, as I looked up at   
her I was drawn toward her new apparel. Michiru wore a sky blue gown of   
silk with her hair up in a bun. Jewelry graced every part of her body   
it was suited for. The dress was very low cut with spaghetti straps,   
formfitting to her waist then continued flowingly to her ankles;   
scandalous yet elegant. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.  
"I didn't mean for you to change your entire wardrobe, Michiru-  
chan," I said, having commented the day before on her always wearing   
the same clothing.  
She didn't respond. If anything she looked nervous. "I have a   
surprise for you. Will you come and see it, please?"  
"Of course."  
I stood and she led me to my bedroom where I could hear soft,   
romantic music playing in the background. Michiru pulled me inside to   
see a small table off to the side with a delicious dinner prepared for   
two, complete with wine and lit candles.  
"What is all this?" I asked, starting to feel a little nervous   
myself.  
She only asked me to sit down and enjoy the meal with her. I   
complied, of course, and we ate in almost complete silence except for   
the music.  
"Thank you so much. The dinner was delicious," I stated when we   
finished, wanting to make some sort of conversation.  
Michiru, instead, stood and took my hand gently, staring down   
into my eyes. "Dance with me."  
Wordlessly I stood, taking her slender figure into my arms and   
pulled her against me. We danced slowly around the room to the   
instrumental song, careful not to mess anything up. In the middle of our   
dance, Michiru laid her head on my chest while I nervously moved both   
my hands down to her waist. I heard her sigh when I did that, letting   
my anxious mind know it was okay. While I leaned down to smell her   
intoxicating perfume, raindrops began drowning out the music and I   
glanced outside to see it had begun raining fairly hard, darkening the   
room and setting the perfect mood. As the music faded out, we stopped   
and stared breathlessly into each other's beautiful eyes. Neither of us   
dared to speak, fearing the moment to be broken. I couldn't wait any   
longer then and took my chances. I leaned my head very slowly toward   
her, brining our lips closer. Everything went well until we were about   
an inch apart, when Michiru stepped back and admitted she couldn't.  
"I'm so sorry." A tear escaped her eye before running out of the   
room crying, leaving me horrified with the rain to figure out what went   
wrong.  
  
Two days after the incident I came home early from the track with   
flowers for Michiru. The days and nights since then had been horrible.   
She remained in her bottle, not giving me a chance to apologize for   
what ever I had done. I didn't even know if it was me or herself that   
she wasn't comfortable with. However, I was determined to find out.  
I entered my house and found the bottle on the kitchen table.   
Sitting the flowers down next to it, I asked Michiru's forgiveness,   
hoping she would listen.  
"Michiru-chan, I am so sorry for what ever I did that night. I   
didn't mean to make you uncomfortable by trying to kiss you. It's just   
by the dinner, the music, the dance...I thought you wanted me to do   
something like that. To be honest, I've never felt this way before   
about anyone. This is as new to me as it probably is to you. I only   
wish to get closer to you, Michiru-chan. I..."  
In the middle of my confession there was a strange noise from my   
room. It sounded like a woman's voice. I looked back at the bottle and   
cursed. It took an hour of rehearsing and searching my heart to say   
those things and she wasn't even in there.  
'But what is she doing in my room?' I thought.  
I walked slowly to the voice's source and found the door almost   
closed. I peered curiously through the slit in it and immediately   
leaned against the wall for support as my nerves froze. Michiru was   
laying on my bed with her eyes closed and arms crossed over her chest,   
whispering something unintelligible. I noticed she only wore half her   
clothing as she sat up with the satin robes off her shoulders. She   
brushed a hand through her hair and moved it slowly down her body.  
"Ooh...Haruka..."  
My stomach was about to collapse when she said that. I prayed for   
my legs to hold out as I observed her continuing.  
"Haruka...my Haruka...touch me like you have no on else...please   
love me...need me..." She whispered all this and more as she   
fantasized. Her legs bent up so the robes fell off them as well,   
revealing long and silky legs, her hands wandering between them.   
Michiru opened her eyes but continued to stare forward as she slipped   
her hand inside the robe. A soft moan escaped her lips, she bent her   
head forward, and a tear fell to the sheets while she touched herself.   
"Haruka...please...I love you so much," she confessed to me without   
knowing it.  
I didn't even feel the tears coming to my own eyes as I listened   
and watched my secret love confess to me that she felt the same way. I   
knew the possible consequences of intruding in and embarrassing the   
life out of her but I didn't care. I'd never get another opportunity to   
tell her how I felt.  
Gathering all my strength, I forced myself into the room and   
choked out her name once inside. Michiru jumped and nearly screamed,   
staring at me in complete horror.  
"Y-you...Haruka-san...how long have you..." she stuttered   
terribly and covered her mouth.  
After a minute of just string at each other I found my breath   
again. "I'm so sorry, Michiru-chan...for everything."  
She got off the bed and approached me, not bothering to put her   
robes back on her shoulders, giving me a very uncomfortable view while   
she spoke. "What do you have to be sorry for?"  
"What I did the other night after the dance."  
"What did you do?" she asked with a confused expression.  
"Well," I brushed a hand through my hair, "I was kind of hoping   
you'd tell me."  
"Oh...the kiss..." She looked at the floor. "I just wasn't..."  
"Ready?" I finished for her.  
She stood contemplating for a moment before answering, "Hai."  
I lifted her head and brought my face closer to hers. "Well,   
maybe now you are." I tried to kiss her but she only shunned away again.  
"I can't, Haruka-san."  
"Michiru-chan!"  
"I'm sorry."  
She turned away from me but I grabbed her arm gently to get her   
attention. "You were just wishing me to make love to you and now you   
won't even kiss me?" I didn't yell at her, but got my point across.  
"I said I can't."  
"You're not making any sense. Talk to me!"  
"Listen to me!" She pulled away violently, surprising me because   
she had never even raised her voice to me before. "I never said I   
won't, or I don't want to; it's because I _can't_."  
"You...why?"  
Michiru sighed, sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around her   
body. "Genies aren't allowed to get into personal relationships with   
mortals. If we break this rule..."  
I stood in silence for a few second, thinking about what she just   
told me. Everything from the past two days suddenly made sense.   
"Michiru-chan, I..."  
"It's okay. It just...wasn't meant to be." A tear slipped down   
her cheek and she brushed it away.  
"Matte, our friendship. We're in a relationship already and   
nothing's happened."  
"That's because it's not a _personal_ relationship." Michiru   
stood up shakily and looked into my eyes. "We both know that if we kiss   
it's going to lead to intimacy. Haruka-san...these past few weeks have   
been the most wonderful in my life. I wouldn't trade them for my   
freedom."  
"You might not have to." For once a brainstorm of mine changed my   
life forever.  
"What do you mean? I can't be with you."  
I ran out of the room, grabbed her bottle and went back just as   
fast. "Yes, you can, Michiru... I love you, and I'm going to make it   
possible."  
Michiru hugged me as more tears ran down her face at my use of   
her name. "Haruka-san, don't do this. Even if you wished me free I'd   
still be magical and immortal. Our lives would be too different."  
"I plan to take care of that, too."  
She looked up at me in hope and fear as I held her bottle.  
"My first wish... I wish for you to be mine...forever." I laced   
my fingers through her hair as I whispered. "That way no one can ever   
take you away from me."  
"Haruka-san...that's not enough," she said shakily.  
"I'm not through yet. My second wish is for your freedom."  
"Demo-"  
Before she could finish the bottle began glowing pink. Michiru   
touched it in awe and half laughed. "I'm free," she said softly.   
"But," she looked at me sadly, "I'm still-"  
"Shh," I hushed her.  
"I only have enough power to grant your last wish, and only   
because I choose to. I won't have any power left."  
"You won't have any power left either way."  
Her expression was one of confusion.  
I smiled warmly, held her tightly, and whispered in her ear, "I   
wish you were mortal."  
Michiru gasped and stepped back as if she was horrified by what I   
said. "If I become mortal..."  
"We can be together." It was the only thing we both wanted to   
hear.  
The bottle glowed even brighter than when it set Michiru free.   
She held her chest for a minute while the magic and immortality drained   
from her body. There was a bright flash, and when my eyes adjusted   
again she was kneeled over on the floor with nothing on. The bottle   
disappeared from my hands.  
Michiru breathed heavily and sat back, shedding a few tears in   
her nearly new body. "So, this is what it's like to be mortal," she   
said in almost disgust.  
"No..." I kneeled next to her and lifted her chin to look at me,   
"this is."  
Swiftly, I leaned forward and kissed her sweet lips. We parted   
only a second before Michiru smiled, wrapped her arms around my neck   
and kissed me deeply. We stayed like that for what seemed an eternity   
before confessing everything to each other.  
  
  
It is now a year later and I can't help but smile at the   
wonderful memories since Michiru said she loved me. I cuddle her   
closer, a little too much so, and she wakes from her sleep.  
"Haruka, are you awake?" she asks into the darkness sleepily.  
"Hai, Michiru. I'm sorry I woke you." I pull her closer. "Go back   
to sleep."  
She scoots against me and snuggles her face into my neck.   
"Aishiteru."  
"Aishiteru, Michi."  
The wind blows through the window, tossing our hair gently. I   
brush a stray lock of aqua hair from her delicate face and rub her bare   
back soothingly. Michiru sighs, making me think once again how I   
managed to capture the immortal heart of a genie who captured the   
mortal heart of mine. 


End file.
